Chinese zuoyuezi Rituals: Traditional Versus Modern Mothercare

Zuoyuezi
is the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) term for the month a mother spends at
home after giving birth during which she eats nourishing food, rests and
recovers her strength. Weight gain and lethargy are among the consequences of
failing to spend a good zuoyuezi, according to TCM.

It also advises that during the zuoyuezi period a new mother should stay
indoors and avoid bathing, washing the hair or brushing the teeth. She should
also wear a hat or scarf at all times, keep windows closed, and stay in bed for
as long as possible.

Contemporary postnatal care considers certain TCM axioms as reasonable and
scientific, others not so much wrong as obsolete.

The
TCM rule of staying indoors is to avoid exposure to communicable diseases, and
keeping the head covered wards off chills. Modern mothercare, however,
encourages mothers to get out into the fresh air, even in deep winter. It
also recommends high protein foods such as beef, mutton, fish and shrimp to
produce ample breast milk, which conflicts with the TCM view that mainly
advocates "tonic" soup and eggs immediately after giving birth.

Although eggs are indeed a good form of nourishment for new mothers, eating
too many causes a dietary imbalance and weakens the digestion. Generally
speaking, two-to-three eggs a day during zuoyuezi is
sufficient.

TCM advises foregoing salt for the
first few days after giving birth, to avoid edema, or dropsy. But food
containing salt is actually beneficial as well as tasty, because it helps
regain energy lost through overactive sweat and mammary glands.

Tradition also discourages eating raw or cold foods, such as fruit and
vegetables, during zuoyuezi. This is disputed by the fact that after going
through labor women need to stay in bed to rest their abdominal muscles, and are
consequently likely to suffer from constipation or hemorrhoids. The vitamins,
mineral elements and dietary fiber in fruit and vegetables absorb sugar and
protein, stimulate gastrointestinal peristalsis, thus fending off constipation
as well as curbing the appetite. One piece of fruit and 50g vegetables gradually
increasing to two pieces of fruit and 200g of vegetables are the recommended
daily quantities.

Chinese
mothers of antiquity believed that drinking "tonic" soup would help them to
produce ample breast milk after giving birth; also that they should wait until
24 hours post partum before nursing their babies. But sustained secretion and
production of mother's milk is actually a reflex stimulated by a newborn
infant's sucking at the nipple. Breast feeding is symbiotic in that it promotes
uterine contraction and ensures the newborn receives nourishment rich in
anti-bodies that allay future risks of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart
disease, eczema and asthma. It is consequently advisable to breastfeed the
newborn thirty minutes, rather than 24 hours, after giving birth. And as it
takes at least one week to regain intestinal and stomach functions after going
through labor, new mothers are advised to eat greasy "tonic" soup made from
chicken or fish one week, rather than immediately, after childbearing.

When analyzing the principles of zuoyuezi in the historical medical
context, many of its practices make sense. Avoiding bathing and brushing the
teeth was to prevent water-borne diseases. Prolonged bed-rest was to promote
recovery of the strength needed to care for an infant while fulfilling all other
household duties.

It is clear today that low living standards and poor sanitation were at the
root of zuoyuezi principles, whose purpose was to prevent postpartum
complications. Today it is not only safe but advisable to take a bath
two-to-three days after delivery and wash the hair seven-to-10 days later.
Bathing reduces risks of folliculitis, endometritis and mastitis but the
bathroom should be warm and no longer than 10 minutes should be spent in the
bath. As postnatal women often have a good appetite, they should pay attention
to oral health and brush their teeth, as normal, twice a day or even after every
meal.

The TCM principle of staying in bed, even when eating and drinking, and
taking no exercise is inadvisable. Although new mothers need abundant and rich
nutrition they should avoid putting on weight. Adequate rest promotes strength
and muscle repair but exercise helps regain the figure as well as promote
contraction of the uterine and perineum muscles. Post partum women should get
out of bed to urinate six hours after childbirth, sit up in bed 24 hours after
delivery and do postpartum muscle training 10 days later.

Tradition also expects mothers to abstain from sex until 100 days after
delivery. Today it is generally agreed that sex six-to-eight weeks after
childbirth is quite safe, although women who have given birth by cesarean
section should wait three months. Another TCM misconception is that it is only
during zuoyuezi that mothers can be cured of ills resulting from previous
postpartum complications. They should actually seek necessary treatment within
the first postpartum month.

Sesame SeedsThe high protein, iron, calcium and phosphor
content of sesames seeds make them another recommended source of nourishment for
postnatal women.

Fruits and VegetablesRich in vitamin C and minerals,
fruits and vegetables help digestion and ward off constipation. As postnatal
women's intestines and stomach need time to recover, however, they should eat
fewer fruits and vegetables than normal.

(Source: huaiyun.pckids.com.cn / Translated by
womenofchina.cn).

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